Spiral wound brushes



Sept. 2, 1969 G. B. HUNT 3,464,077

SPIRAL WOUND BRUSHES Filed June 20, 1968 5 sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Sept. 2, 1969 G. B. HUNT 3,464,077

SPIRAL WOUND BRUSHES Filed June 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Sept. 2, 1969 G. B. HUNT SPIRAL WOUND BRUSHES Filed June 20, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 6662?? 5 Hun/Z United States Patent 3,464,077 SPIRAL WOUND BRUSHES George B. Hunt, 648 N. 79th St.,

Wauwatosa, Wis. 53213 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 661,405, Aug. 17, 1967. This application June 30, 1968, Ser.

Int. Cl. A46b /00 US. Cl. -182 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spiral wound brush in which the cord which is used to hold brush filaments in place in a channel is also used to determine the position of the channel and to hold the channel on a brush core.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 661,405, filed Aug. 17, 1967, now abandoned, which is a division of my earlier application, Ser. No. 445,356, filed Mar 31, 1965, now Patent No. 3,343,884, issued Sept. 26, 1967.

The present invention is directed to the art of spiral wound brushes and is particularly concerned with improvements which facilitate manufacture of such brushes.

Spiral wound brushes of various kinds and sizes have been manufactured for many years. Heretofore spiral wound brushes have consisted typically of a cylindrical body with a groove formed in the body or in a separate spirally wound grooved member which is fixed to the body. After the groove is formed on the body, a cord is wound around the groove with brush filaments between the cord and the bottom wall of the groove. When the cord is drawn tightly into the groove, the brush filaments are bent by the conjoint action of the walls of the groove and the cord and extend outwardly from the brush body at approximately 90 from the axis of the body. In the past, grooves have been cut into the body and, in some case, a special spirally wound U-shaped member is fixed, as by welding or the like to the cylindrical body or core. In the case of grooves being cut into the cylindrical body the pitch and location of the spiral is determined by the facilities used to form the spiral. In the case of a separate grooved spiral member the pitch and location is determined by the facilities used to attach the spiral groove to the cylindrical body. In neither case can the location and pitch of the spiral groove be determined by the facilities used to wind the cable or cord within the spiral groove while at the time the brush filaments are folded into the groove.

With the foregoing in mind, the major purposes of the present invention are to so form a spirally wound brush that the same brush filament holding groove facility can be utilized with a core of wood, metal or other material; to so form a spirally wound brush that no special cutting tools are necessary to form a spiral groove in the body and no specially formed spiral member is necessary in making the brush, the brush being so formed that the pitch of the spiral may be varied from time to time with the same facilities thereby enabling a variance in the spacing of the brush filaments in accordance with predetermined desires in the finished brush, the method of making the brushes being capable of utilization in varied sizes of brushes at lesser expenses than has been involved heretofore in the manufacture of spiral brushes, these and other purposes of the invention being more apparent in the course of the ensuing specification and claims when taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an initial step in making brushes according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of additional steps utilized with the method of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of further steps employed according to the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of a brush formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of a typical spirally wound brush formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a typical groove strip utilized in the invention;

FIGURE 7 illustrates other cross-sections of other grooved strips which may be utilized in the invention;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional View of a variant form of channel construction;

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional illustration of another variant form of channel construction and illustrating both the unassembled and assembled condition of the channel when used with a holding cord and brush filaments;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of another variant form of channel construction;

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of another variant form of channel construction;

FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view of still another variant form of channel construction;

FIGURE 13 is a variant form of brush construction incorporating the principles of the invention while illustrating variations in the facilities used to hold the channel on the core; and

FIGURE 14 is an illustration of another variation of the invention while illustrating still different facilities for holding the channel on the core.

Like elements are designated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

With particular reference now to the drawings and in the first instance to FIGURE 1, the numeral 10 designates an elongated cylindrical core. The core is shown as a hollow cylinder of metal. It should be understood that in accordance with principles of the invention, the core may be a solid or a hollow cylinder and may be fabricated from wood, plastic or other materials capable of maintaining a generally cylindrical shape during subsequent steps in the method.

In accordance with the present invention, a cord 11 has one end portion fixed to the outer wall of the cylinder, as illustrated by the bolt and nut assembly 12 passing through and fixed to the wall of the cylinder. After the cord 11 is fixed to the cylindrical core, an elongated strip of flexible material having a channel shape is positioned with an end portion 14 between the outer wall of the cylindrical core and the overlying cord 11 and in such a fashion that the cord enters the outwardly open channel formed by the elongated strip 13. The elongated strip 13 may have a cross-section as illustrated in FIGURE 6 in which the channel has characteristic outwardly opening legs 15 and 16 and with a minor recess 17 formed in the bottom wall of the channel and of a size approaching that of the cross-section of the cord. The recess may have a rounded or fiat bottom as shown at 17a and 17b in FIGURE 7. The strip 13 may be formed from rubber, plastic or other materials capable of having an elongated linear disposition while being sufficiently flexible to enable simple winding of the strip around the cylindrical core 10. That is to say, the strip in its natural state should be sufficiently flexible to enable winding of the strip about the cylinder while the strip is capable of various transverse flexures to enable variance in the pitch of the strip as it is wound about and along the length of the cylinder.

It is preferable to feed the elongated strip into its underlying position to the cord 11 while a portion of the length of the strip is essentially linear as is represented in FIGURE 1.

When the strip end portion 14 is positioned against the outer wall of the cylindrical core and the cord 11 enters the channel of the strip, the cord and cylindrical core are wound together with the strip 13 after which the brush filaments 18 are positioned across the legs of the channel and between the channel and the cord as is represented in FIGURE 2. The filaments are positioned so that the midportions thereof are over the channel. The cord and strip may be wound for only a portion of a revolution of the core before the brush filaments are positioned, or the cord and strip may be wound for one revolution or more before the filaments are fed into contact with the channel if desired.

The winding of the cord and strip are continued with brush filaments being continuously positioned between the strip and the cord just prior to the time that the cord enters the space within the channel. As the cord is wound together with the channel, the cord engages the midportions of the brush filaments and forces them within the channel thus forcing the end portions of the filaments to extend outwardly from the channel in approximately radial directions with respect to the axis of the core as is illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The winding of the cord and strip together with the positioning of the filaments across the channel, while forcing them to the outwardly extending position by the action of the cord, continues with the strip 13 being Wound in spiral fashion about the core until a desired number of convolutions of the spiral are formed at a desired pitch and in accordance with the predetermined desired length of the brush.

When the desired number of brush filaments are in position, the winding of the cord 11 and strip 13 may continue without positioning additional filaments therebetween for some distance whereupon the end of the cord 11 is again fixed to the core as by a suitable fastener such as the bolt 19 illustrated in FIGURE 5. Again, the channel and cord may pass around the core for a portion of a revolution or one revolution or more without filaments at this end of the brush.

The convolutions of the spirally wound strip 13 may be spaced in abutting relation to one another or may be spaced from one another as is illustrated in FIGURE 4. If it is desired to space the convolutions of the strip, a separate spacer strip 20 may be positioned between the convolutions of the filament holding strip 13 and wound about the core simultaneously with the winding of the strip 13. The introduction of a spacer strip is not necessary, however. After the brush is formed with the desired number of convolutions and filaments, the ends of the filaments may be trimmed, if necessary, and the brush assembly so formed is ready for use or mounting in some particular brush machine arrangement.

Through use of the method described herein, the same strip material may be used for brushes of various diameters, and lengths, as well as with different core materials. The elongated strip 13 may be stored on a reel and fed into the winding relation, the strip being cut from the reel after the predetermined length of brush is formed. On the other hand, the strip may be cut to a desired length and then fed into the winding relation with the core and the cord. The formation of the brush may be done by hand through use of hand feeding of the strip, filaments and winding of the cord and core. The operations may be formed essentially simultaneously by a machine having facilities for producing the wlnding movement of the cord and strip with relation to the core. The winding movement may be accomplished by rotating the core or by winding the cord and strip about the core while the core is held essentially stationary.

FIGURES 8-l2 illustrate still further variant forms of channel constructions which may be utilized with the invention. In FIGURE 8, for example, a channel 20 has spaced legs 21 and 22 with inwardly facing beads or rib portions 23 and 24. These beads project inwardly from the remainder of the legs of the channel and exert light frictional contact with the brush filaments 18. In FIG- URE 9, a channel 25 has a normal configuration somewhat in the form of a W. During the process of forcing the cable 11 and filaments 18 into the channel, the cable 11 moves in the direction of the arrow and forces the filaments downwardly into engagement with the bottom wall 26 of the channel and forces the bottom of the channel downwardly against the core while the legs portions 27 and 28 thereof assume a substantially parallel position or a position more nearly parallel than the divergent position illustrated in the left or unassembled view in FIGURE 9.

In FIGURE 10 a flexible channel 29 is formed with upstanding leg portions 30 and 31 that converge inwardly toward each other to a slight extent. In FIGURE 11 a channel 32 is formed with upstanding leg portions 33 and 34 thereof outwardly divergent. The legs 33 and 34 include inwardly facing beads 35 and 36 on the outer ends thereof which engage the filaments 18. In FIGURE 12 a channel 37 has the leg portions 38 and 39 thereof outwardly divergent to a slight extent, while the legs 38 and 39 of the channel still provide some frictional contact with the filaments 18.

In all of the variant forms of channel constructions, the legs of the channel exert some frictional engagement with the brush filaments, with the legs being so formed that they are substantially parallel with one another and so that the brush filaments are substantially parallel. The legs of the channel may diverge from or converge from true parallelism without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In this regard, it is usually desirable to have the ends of the filaments extending as close to ninety degrees to the axis of the core (viewed from the end of the core and from the side of the core) as possible. The spacing and configuration of the legs of the channel should be such that they exert frictional contact with the filaments and hold the outer ends of each filament within angles of about 25 or less relative inclination. The angle of 25 may be exceeded in some minor uses, but holding the angle within 25 is a practical limitation for most brushes. The term substantially parallel is used herein to describe all of the channel configurations shown in the drawings and those channel constructions having filament engaging surfaces which will hold the opposite ends of the filaments within relative angles of about 25.

FIGURE 13 illustrates a variation in the brush construction while' still incorporating the principles of the invention. In FIGURE 13, a bolt or screw 40 is passed through the end of the channel and the cord is affixed to this bolt or screw so that the end portion of the channel is held both by the cable and by the bolt or screw 40. The position of the channel on the core 10 and the position of the filaments in the channel are nonetheless maintained by the cord 11. In FIGURE 14, some portions of adhesive 41 are used to fix the end portion of the channel to the core 10. The position of the channel 13 on the core and the position of the filaments in the channel are still maintained by the cable. Irrespective of whether some minor additional holding facilities such as the screw or bolt 40 or the adhesive 41 is employed, the assembled structural integrity of the core, channel and filaments is maintained by the cable. The expression substantially solely is used herein to embrace those structures wherein the position of the channel on the core is maintained for the most part by the cord and the cord at the same time maintains the filaments within the channel irrespective of whether some minor additional holding facility is utilized for the channel.

In the assembled brush, the strip 13 is held in its proper position on the core solely by the action of the cord 11. Thus, the cord performs the dual function of holding the strip in position while at the same time holding the filaments in the proper, radially extending position and at the proper pitch.

As is seen in the drawings and particularly in FIG- URES 5, 6 and 7, the filaments may frictionally engage the sides of the channel without the sides or legs of the channel exerting any substantial clamping engagement with the filaments. The filaments are held in the channel and the filaments and channel are held on the core substantially solely by the holding cable or cord and the structural integrity of the assembled cord, channel, filaments and core is maintained by the cord.

It should be understood that where the term cord is used herein, it is intended to include various materials which will act to hold the channel strip in position while forcing the brush filaments into the channel and holding the filaments in position. Such materials include twine, metal wire, and cables of plastic, metal or equivalent material.

I claim:

1. A spiral wound brush including a central, generally cylindrical core, a cord having at least one end portion fixed to said core, an elongated, outwardly open, flexible channel positioned against said core and wound spirally around said core, said channel being of a material in the group of materials which includes rubber and plastic materials, said channel having legs extending outwardly from the core in substantially parallel relation to one another, filaments extending outwardly from said channel, said cord being in overlying relation to said channel and being spirally wound about said core at the same pitch as said channel, said cord being in overlying relation to portions of said filaments and being wound sufficiently tightly to hold said channel in its spirally wound position, the other end portion of said cord being fixed with relation to said channel and core, said channel and filaments being held on said core and said filaments being held in said channel substantially solely by said cord, the sides of said channel being in frictional contact with said filaments without having any substantial clamping engagement therewith, the structural integrity of the assembled channel, core, cord and filaments being maintained by the holding action of said cord on said core.

2. A spiral wound brush including a central, generally cylindrical core, a cord having at least one end portion fixed to said core, an elongated, outwardly open, flexible channel positioned against said core and wound spirally around said core, said channel having legs extending outwardly from the core in substantial parallel relation to one another, said channel being of a material in the group of materials which includes rubber and plastic materials,

filaments extending outwardly from said channel, said cord being in overlying relation to said channel and being spirally wound about said core at the same pitch as said channel, said cord being in overlying relation to portions of said filaments and being wound sutficiently tightly to hold said channel in its spirally wound position, the other end portion of said cord being fixed with relation to said channel and core, said channel and filaments being held on said core and said filaments being held in said channel solely by said cord, the opposed inner surfaces of the legs of said channel being susbtantially parallel with one another, the structural integrity of the assembled channel, core, cord and filaments being maintained by the holding action of said cord on said core.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said channel is held on said core by said cord without fastening means between said channel and said core.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein successive convolutions of said channel are spaced from one another and spacing elements are positioned between said convolutions.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein adjacent convolutions of said channel are spaced from one another at varying pitches.

-6. The structure of claim 1 wherein the convolutions of said channel are spaced from one another at a constant pitch.

7. The structure of claim 1 wherein the cord extends beyond the opposite ends of the channel at each end thereof.

8. The structure of claim 1 wherein the cord terminates Within the channel at at least one end of the channel.

9 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,180 8/1915 Jarvis.

1,484,027 2/1924 Jacobs.

1,860,572 5/1932 Cleaves 15-182 2,349,643 5/1944 Wesemeyer 15-182 2,379,205 6/ 1945 Wesemeyer 15-182 2,411,488 11/1946 White 15-182 2,553,748 5/1951 Carlson et al. 15-182 2,682,679 7/1954 Ballard 15-182 2,812,214 11/1957 Sandelin 300-21 2,924,838 2/1960 Jones et al. 15-182 2,989,766 6/1961 Hoag 15-205 XR 3,199,134 8/1965 Jones 15-182 PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner 

